


just a bang-bang rolling off your tongue

by xavierurban



Series: bless the broken road [5]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, Robin: Son of Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Custody Battle, Divorce, Family Drama, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Mother-Son Relationship, POV Bruce Wayne, hurt kids say things they don't mean, no capes AU, sibling dynamics, thankfully this teen angst bullshit does not have a body count, well minimal comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 18:11:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18579862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xavierurban/pseuds/xavierurban
Summary: the family reacts to the court's ruling after the custody hearing.





	just a bang-bang rolling off your tongue

**Author's Note:**

> title from little toy guns by carrie underwood
> 
> trigger warning for a single mention of domestic violence (NOT about bruce and talia's relationship)

_september 2009_  
  
  
Jason’s expression is stormy as Bruce and the kids make their way into the Manor after the hearing. He’s been quiet since they left Talia at the courthouse, letting Damian curl into his side throughout the car ride home, but Bruce can tell there’s a storm brewing inside of him. He’s just relieved that they made it home before everything boiled over.  
  
“Welcome home,” Alfred greets as he joins them in the foyer. He doesn’t ask outright how things went, but he does raise an eyebrow at Bruce, who gives him a small nod. Alfred’s expression doesn’t change, not really, but Bruce thinks he can read relief in the man’s eyes.  
  
“Alfie!” Dick replies brightly, going over to hug the older man, “We should order a cake for after dinner, we need to celebrate!”  
  
It’s entirely the wrong thing to say, and Bruce can’t believe that Dick didn’t realise it.  
  
“Yeah, I bet you're real pleased!” Jason shouts suddenly, pointing a finger at Dick accusingly, “I bet you always wanted this! You _never_ liked mom!”  
  
“She's not my mother!” Dick snaps back, pulling away from Alfred, and Bruce winces as Damian bursts into tears and breaks away from where Cass has been holding his hand and goes to Jason, instead, latching onto his leg until the fifteen year old hauls him up into his arms despite the fact that he's gotten too big to comfortably do so.  
  
“Dick,” Bruce warns gently, silently begging his eldest not to make this any worse.  
  
“You've upset Damian,” Jason accuses, and glares at Dick through the tears that have sprung up in his own eyes, “Better off all together my _ass_.”  
  
“Master Jason,” Alfred reprimands sharply, “Language.”  
  
“Sorry Alfie,” the boy says, even as Dick speaks over him.  
  
“Of _course_ we're better off together,” Dick argues, “We're family, all of us, they can't just keep us apart.”  
  
Jason actually snarls at him, and looks like he's about to pounce until he remembers Damian is in his arms.  
  
“You don't even live here,” he says instead, “You stop in maybe twice a week, an’ you wanna talk ‘bout being t’gether?” He clutches Damian tighter, “This is yer fault! You gave that stupid speech ‘bout how close you an’ Dames are, an’ they ate it right up! You did it on purpose!”  
  
There are angry tears falling from Jason's eyes now, that lower-Gotham accent slipping out like it does when he's upset or tired, and Dick looks as if he's been slapped. Bruce wishes more than anything that he could go back just a few minutes and find a way to stave off this argument.  
  
“Of course I did it on purpose!” Dick hollers, “I wasn’t going to let her take the two of you away!”  
  
Jason lets out a wordless scream of frustration as Cass moves over to stand next to Dick in solidarity and comfort. She takes his hand, squeezing it gently.  
  
“Dick is right,” she insists quietly, “We stay together.” She looks over at the other two boys, then, and says, “You are hurt. Scared. I am sorry for that part.”  
  
Jason turns his glare on her.  
  
“She's your mom, too!” He yells, and the tears keep falling, “She loved you, and you only ever wanted Dad! This is both your faults! You made her leave! You all did!” Jason turns that pained, angry expression on Bruce, then, and it leaves him feeling frozen to the core.  
  
“We had a good thing here,” he says, anguished, “You loved each other, and you loved us, and no one even hit each other! It's like you don't even see how lucky you were! And now my mom is gone _again_! I hate you!”  
  
Jason turns and runs, then, not stopping even when Dick shouts after him. They hear his door slam a few moments later, and the noise finally jolts Bruce out of his shock.  
  
He knows that Jason doesn't really mean what he'd just said, but that doesn't make hearing it any easier to bear. It still smarts to know his son is hurting enough to feel that way, if only temporarily. He makes a move as if to go after his youngest boys, but Alfred places a hand on his elbow to stay him.  
  
“Master Bruce,” he says gently, “Please give them time. They are… in mourning”  
  
Bruce nearly scoffs at that - Talia isn't _dead_ , and what does Damian know of loss? And despite his words, Jason knows the difference between death and divorce, knows Talia isn't lost to him the same way Catherine Todd is - but then he thinks about it further, and his heart aches.  
  
No, his children haven't lost their mother, but the dream of a perfect and happy family, yes, that has finally come crashing down after months of teetering on a knife's edge. There is still the death of the family to mourn, the death of a dream. Bruce won't pretend he doesn't understand how that must be devastating, especially to Jason, who had already spent so many years in a broken home.  
  
Shoulders slumping, Bruce lets out a sigh and then offers a weak smile to his two eldest children.  
  
“We all knew this would be an adjustment,” he reminds them, and Cass lets go of Dick’s hand to come over and hug him. He hugs her back tightly, and presses a kiss to the top of her head.  
  
“Not really hate,” she murmurs, and Bruce rests his chin against the top of her head for a moment as she seems content to stay there, holding onto him.  
  
“I know,” he says after a while, “Like you said, Jason and Damian are hurt, and afraid. Damian has never been apart from your mother for more than a few weeks, nor has Jason, since we brought him home. It’s just going to take time for them to get used to the idea.”  
  
Cass pulls back and leans up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek, and Bruce’s offers her another sad smile.  
  
“Thank you, Cassandra,” he tells her, and then looks across the room at Dick, “And thank you, as well. Jason was right about one thing; what you said at the hearing did hold some sway with the judge.”  
  
It certainly wasn’t the only factor, but they had all heard the judge comment on the importance of keeping the family together, and while Jason was old enough for his opinion to be taken into consideration the same way Cassandra’s was, there was no way Jason was ever going to be allowed to go with Talia by himself, alienated from the entirety of his family. She was either going to get both Jason and Damian, or neither of them, and between Dick’s impassioned speech and Talia’s plans for relocation, she had no real chance, no matter how much weight her name held. Consistency and stability are too important for a child, the judge had pointed out; the divorce was already disruptive enough without moving the kids halfway across the world.  
  
Dick looks guilty, just for a moment, before he steels himself.  
  
“I did what I had to do to keep our family together,” he says, “You don’t need to thank me for that.”  
  
“Still,” Bruce says, and Dick gives him the slightest nod.  
  
“Might I suggest we all clean up?” Alfred smoothly breaks the silence that follows, “Lunch will be served in an hour.”  
  
Cassandra and Dick head up the stairs to their respective bedrooms, but Bruce stays behind to try and collect himself. He isn’t sure he can pass Jason’s room without going in to check on the boys, despite knowing his presence must be unwanted.  
  
Alfred allows him a few moments to wallow in that before fixing him with a stern look.  
  
“Master Bruce,” he says, “All of your children love you a great deal. Do not take Masters Jason and Damian’s grief as evidence of the opposite. You must simply show them that nothing besides their mother’s departure has changed, and they will come around.”  
  
Bruce takes a calming breath, and then nods.  
  
“What would I do without you, Alfred?” He asks, and the older man smirks ever so slightly.  
  
“The Good Lord only knows, Master Bruce.”

**Author's Note:**

> end; i'll be away this weekend, but i'm going to do my best to have the next fic up on thursday night. if not, i'll attempt to post it through mobile on friday while i'm commuting, but no promises! if i'm not able to, it'll go up on sometime on monday when i get home.


End file.
